


The Ward Wide Webcast

by DevinTowerwood



Category: Life Is Strange
Genre: F/F, YouTube, canon-divergent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-04-30 15:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5168546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DevinTowerwood/pseuds/DevinTowerwood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dana hosts a Youtube channel to follow her life and the dramas of Blackwell academy. Foremost on her mind, though, is one girl just down the hall: Kate Marsh.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. October 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dana leans heavily on her own hands while she talks slowly and a bit awkwardly, out of the rhythm of the Youtube spotlight after a stressful month at Blackwell. She speeds up nervously as a new girl in her life comes to mind, though frequently chewing the words of her feelings before saying them.

“Hey there internet, it’s Dana. So, today isn’t a big episode or anything, I just wanted to talk to you about some stuff going on around Blackwell lately - I know my school is not much of a topic most of the time, but just crazy stuff has been happening all month. 

“As you may have heard in the papers if you’re local, or even if you’re not, you may have heard about this journalism student who discovered that a lot of students on campus were having, well, like, she called it a ‘collective nightmare’. A whole bunch of us, myself included, have had these dreams about a giant storm just wiping out our town. I told her about it because we’re friends, but she told me she heard the same thing from another girl in our dorms. She started poking around, and nearly every person here at the school, and even a few random people she found around town had this strange, similar dream of Arcadia Bay being destroyed by this tornado... or a hurricane, I couldn’t really tell.  
“Anyway, that’s been super interesting, but she hasn’t learned much beyond that. Our school paper featured an article from her about this ‘Omen of Destruction’ but it turns out local papers don’t want to be quite so panicky, so they just said a bunch of students have been having similar recurring dreams, as reported by a local student or whatever. Juliet’s been - same Juliet I hang out with, she’s the journalist - pretty convinced that this is some great sign of something, and a local radio station has started talking about it as a sign of the apocalypse: but hey, fundamentalist Christians, what can you do? Not that Juliet’s happy that they’re the ones taking her the most seriously, but, still, someone is.

“Anyway, um, I know I haven’t been posting on here very much this month. As I said in my last video, a ah, classmate of mine . . . attempted suicide a few weeks ago, and, I don’t know. I’ve been a little numb about it I guess; and a lot of the shit that went down with her happened here on Youtube so I’ve just been . . . yeah.  
“But . . . for the past few days I’ve wanted to talk to you guys about a little else that’s going on, and I’m just sort of trying to clear my head with a little more of an impartial audience, you know, so I’m going to try and work past all the weirdness and tension there to talk a little.

“So, about a week ago, I started talking to this girl. She’s shy and pretty quiet, so I find it kind of tough to get a read on her, but I was thinking of asking her out to this party that’s coming up in a few days, a Halloween party over at Evan’s house, which I thought would be good for her because she doesn’t drink and Evan’s straight edge, so like, good combo, right? But I didn’t know if I should ask her as like, a friendly get together or as, uhm . . . a date. Or if she’d even want to go - like, Evan and them’re not really her crowd, so I’d totally get it, but I’d really like to involve her for Halloween, you know, and that’s where I’m going to be, so . . .  
“But, like, I decided to ask her, or at least bring it up, and she was a little nervous but she seemed happy when I said there wouldn’t be any drinking or drugs or anything like that, and when I told her who’d be coming she was like ‘yeah, ok’ so that went fine. So I was still struggling to figure out how to frame it, but once she got the details she was like, ‘it’s a date, smiley face’ so now I’m even more confused. Because she’s super nice, right? - and sort of proper and Christian and stuff, so I just really don’t know if I’m reading into it? Like, if someone says it’s a date, they mean  _date_ , right, or could she be like, indicating that it is a precise time and place we’ll be meeting at?   
“I just don’t fucking know, honestly, I mean, this girl is super cute and probably the nicest person I’ve ever met and we’ve been getting along super well this whole time we’ve been talking but I haven’t really even confirmed if she’s into girls? Or, if I am. Like, I’m not someone who really insists on labels necessarily, but from what I can tell, introspectively, we have a lot in common and I think I’d like her in a . . . dating-sort-of way. I dunno, honestly, if she likes girls, and if she does if she’d like me, but I’m  _hoping_ , at least, that that’s what she was hinting at. That it was a date. For us.

“Honestly, I’ll let you know when I know more, after the party, maybe. We’ve been brainstorming on costume ideas for a bit so maybe when we’re like, dry running some of the costume stuff it’ll come up and I can clarify and report back. Ahhh. Just wish me luck, I guess. I’m just really hoping nobody fucks anything up at this party - whatever happens, I do not want to scare this poor girl off.  
“Sorry for talking about this so much this time around, I realize the mystical apocalypse storm was probably more interesting - I’ve just been stuck in my head a little for the past few weeks. As always, remember to like and subscibe there at the bottom, and that you can submit questions for my Q&As on my twitter at wardwideweb - I’ll be doing my next one next month on the 15th, a little less than three weeks from now. I’ll see you later, internet.”


	2. November 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dana sits in disheveled makeup with an uncontrolled grin on her face. She has just returned from a Halloween party at Evan's house with Kate, and has some news she'd like to share.

“Hey there internet - this is just a quick update because I am freaking out a little right now. I know, I know, I should probably have waited until morning or at least taken off the makeup but I’m just really excited so I have to tell you how it all went down.

“So, like I said, we got our costume ideas down and dry-ran some of the makeup stuff. I went as Jack Skellington, which is pretty easy with a cap, and she paired up as a corpse bride. But still, like, I could not get a read on her at all because she’s just too fucking nice so I could never tell if she was flirting with me or not.

“Okay, so, let me just talk about Halloween a little, because that’s the main bit. So, before the party, I ran around a little and checked with everyone that they wouldn’t be bringing drugs’n’shit to the party, and when that was all clear, I went and told her everything was going to be all right, and we split up for the night to get ready before we went with a friend. She got her friend Max to help her out with the details which amazes me because I don’t think I’ve ever seen Max put on more than eye liner, but anyway, it turned out super great - I don’t even know where she got the dress, but she painted her face like grey-white and got it to look super discolored but kinda bloody. I don’t know exactly but it was like a super animate zombie in a wedding dress and it was super fucking cool and honestly it went great with my suit.  
“Anyway, so we got the party, and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not entirely used to sober parties these days, and we pretty much just sat around and talked to people for like the first hour. I don’t know, ever since the shit with the Vortex Club I feel like this is more and more how it’s going to be, and like, I like it, but it’s taking some getting used to. After that we did a little horror binge of classics:  _Nightmare on Elm Street_ ,  _Friday the Thirteenth_ , and  _Donnie Darko_? I didn’t really get how that last one fit but Evan insisted it was a Halloween film so we watched it. But what I didn’t realize is that Kate never was allowed to watch stuff like that, and had never really seen ‘scary’ movies. And it was . . . fuck. I just said it, didn’t I? Yeah, okay, so . . . I’m not going to edit that out: the girl I asked to the Halloween party was Kate, the Kate from a few weeks ago - I’m not going to get into that right now because I’m really excited and that’ll throw everything off.

“So, my point was, she was really scared of these movies and was like way more cuddly up to me in response to it, like hiding-against-my-shoulder status and she’d sort of squeal at jump scares and it was one of the cutest, most innocent things I’ve ever seen from an eighteen year old girl. I don’t know, it’s just like, this mother Theresa figure of forgiveness and kindness being scared of cheesy horror films and it was really precious and adorable. But, anyway, near the end of the first one she got pretty scared so we went outside to cool off for a bit.  
“And, I dunno. It was a nice night out, so we went out a little bit and lay down in what I guess is basically Evan’s back yard, and she started telling me stuff about the stars. Like, I’m sure I know stuff about the stars and everything, but she just said it like she got it. Like how it fit all together. I don’t know how to say it, but she made me feel a little like everything was really beautiful, and like I was really small but somehow a little less alone? I don’t know, but I was a little like she was about the slasher flick, I just sort of needed someone close while she talked about it, so we held hands and I just let her keep talking.  
But, like, how she talked about the world involved a lot of god. She didn’t feed me any like ‘six thousand year old planet’ stuff or anything, but the way she talked about it was like she thought God was some sort of artist, and I kind of liked that. I don’t know. Honestly, at a certain point, it became more about listening to and watching her talk than about what she was saying, because I could never get her to talk this much and she treats stuff like it’s . . . really beautiful.

“I don’t get how she did that, to be honest. She’s been so depressed, and I always thought she must find life disgusting, or people disgusting, or something. But I don’t think that’s it. I don’t understand her. But that was the best thing I’ve ever heard that didn’t sound like bullshit. And we were sort of laying on our sides, and, I don’t know, I just thought I saw it in her eyes like, the signal you know, so I kissed her. Except it was like, horrible, like super gross because of all the makeup we had on. So I think I may have like gagged a little and she laughed but I was  _mortified_. And I was trying to be casual but also not take it back so I asked her if we could try again later, and I know when I try to say it it’s going to sound lame, but how she said it was just  _so_  sweet, but she said, ‘yeah, I’d like that.’ But not like that, but like - well, how she says stuff, like she could not be more honest.  
“So I tried to get her to keep talking about the stars or whatever but it wasn’t quite the same or whatever and I couldn’t focus because we’d get going about something and I’d ask something like ‘so you do like girls, right?’ and, oh god, she said, ‘well, I like you’, and I’m just freaking the fuck out. Like I have no idea what this means or how even to respond. I mean, it was like ‘yeah, I think I’d like to ask this girl out’ and now it’s more of a ‘so when do you want to make out’ sort of deal except I don’t think it’s that simple.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s because she’s a girl, or if it’s just because it’s Kate, but I feel like I don’t know the steps from here, or what a kiss means, or anything. But she’s so cute, and I just feel really different around her than most people, so I just think I’m going to see where this goes. I don’t even know how she’s going to be cool about this with her religion or anything but I hope she doesn’t take this back. And I know this is really stupid but I can’t stop thinking about her lips now so I really hope we can try that kiss again but not awkward.

“Okay, guys, I need to get this makeup off; I’m sweaty and it’s getting all gross. I’ll be uploading my Jack Skellington makeup tutorial in a day or two, even if it is kind of late, I’ve just been a little distracted - by Kate Marsh’s face - yeah. So, um. Don’t forget to like and subscribe and submit your questions at wardwideweb on twitter for my Q&A on the 15th of November. I’ll see you later, internet.  
“Aaaaahhh.”

* * *

 

**November 3 Edit:**  After she got back from church we kissed again and I am dying.

Find my twitter @wardwideweb   
 _Read More_


	3. November 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dana sits a bit more somberly than usual, but not stressed like her October 27 webcast. The video is posted less than an hour after Kate has posted her own video on her new channel. When she begins to address Kate, a warmth and smile returns to her face, less powerful than her usual grin reserved for the channel, but containing in it something different. Special. Proud.

“Hey there internet, it’s Dana. I know I’ve got my Q&A but I just wanted to take a moment to talk to you guys a little bit about Kate. Or, I guess, let Kate talk to you a little bit about herself.

“If you’re new or didn’t check my video three or four ago, here is, in brief, what happened. I invited Kate to go to the Vortex Club party a little more than a month ago because I knew how much she struggled to make friends around here, and I really thought having people see her having fun would help her out. But, all the shit with Logan hit the fan that Thursday, and I didn’t go to the party - I didn’t even think to text Kate that I wouldn’t be going until she was already there. I told her to go have some fun, and I guess she drank a little at the party.  
“She, ah, at the party, somebody spiked her drink, and she started making out with some guys on the football team, and a girl here at school filmed it and put it up on Youtube and another site. People made fun of her for it a lot here, but the worse thing was that it got around to her family and friends in her church. Everyone started cutting ties with her so fast, even after what happened to her, and . . . well, I’ll let her tell you about it.

“I’m making this video because Kate decided to speak out for herself. She has her own channel now, katesvids, and after the video got taken down from its own site, katesvid.com, she uploaded her new video there instead. If you, and I know there’s a lot of us out there, watched the first video of her, please, please go see this one, because she has the right to speak out for herself and explain what happened. Just, pause now, and go watch it, and I think I saw that Max posted a video too - the username’s noirangel and you should be able to find it in the recommended videos or the video replies. Pause here, and click on this . . . video.”

* * *

 

“All right, so, if you went and looked at the video, this will all make sense, this is my reply, because I think it’s important to speak up when things like this happen, even if it feels like it’s passed.

“Kate, thank you so much for speaking out about what happened. I am so proud of you for making your video - you’re amazing, and I’m so sorry for how this town treated you. You’ve done nothing but good for the people here at Blackwell and throughout Arcadia Bay, and I’m so, so happy you’re still alive. And I want to say you’re right. Nobody had the right to look at and spread that video. I fucked up, Kate, and you’re the one who paid for it, and you did not deserve that. I know there was this wave of love for Max Caulfield for what she did, but I just want to say that even when we weren’t close, I’ve seen what a hero you were, and I am just so proud of you. And I hope you keep making videos, whether they’re still angry or not, because I think it’s so important that people see how strong you are, and I want you to know that I will have your back no matter what. I’m not Max Caulfield, always with the right thing to say to save someone’s life, but I love you - and if anyone ever tries to lay a hand on you again I swear to god . . .  
“Kate, thank you. I’m so proud of you. Please, stay strong. And don’t forget to like and subscribe, because I’m not done talking to you yet, missy! I’ll talk to you later, Kate.”

* * *

Find my twitter @wardwideweb

_Read more_


End file.
